You say you want a revolution…. Let me be the first to say I commend the Egyptian people for standing up and fighting for their right to have a say in the future of their country. It takes balls to stand against your own leaders. It takes even more to stand against a brutal police force and hired thugs, but it takes no balls whatsoever to exploit a revolution for your own sick ends. Every overthrow in history has brought with it a jarring increase in crime, and the current transition in Egypt is no exception. From looting business to mistreating animals to ransacking museums, a small portion of the Egyptian population has been running amuck. Recently, TV reporters Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour were both victims of the escalating violence, but perhaps the most striking and horrifying example of that occurred on Friday.
According to CBS, news correspondent Lara Logan was beaten and sexually assaulted by a ruthless gang of more than two hundred thugs. Her team was surrounded by the mob, she was separated and brutalized for a sustained period of time before being saved by a group of valiant women and twenty armed Egyptian soldiers. I think I speak for all sane, decent human beings when I say what the fuck? It’s because of this lawlessness and selfish mob behavior that people willingly choose corrupt governments over brief anarchy.
This is not an Egyptian problem, this is a humanity problem. As long as people are willing to look on while others victimize the innocent, atrocities like this will be common place whenever the rule of law breaks down. Lara Logan returned to the States the next morning, and she’s currently recovering in the hospital. Here’s to hoping the story of those women who stepped up and called bullshit on the mob serves as an inspiration to others in the future.
Cinema Blend’s thoughts go out to Lara Logan and her family in this traumatic time.
